Sweet Renegade (21 page)

“Lizzie, come on, Sugar, you know I don’t hate you,” I soothe, running my thumb over her knuckles.

“I don’t know how to makes things right,” she chokes.

“Hey, Lizette, look at me,” I demand, using my free hand to tilt her chin up so that I can look her in the eyes.

Her green eyes meet mine and I know in that moment that one day I’m going to marry her. But I still plan on taking this slow and making her work for my trust back.

“This is a start, love,” I say softly.

Pulling herself together, she grabs some tissues off her desk to blow her nose and dry her eyes. She lifts her now hope-filled eyes to mine.

“Where do we go from here?” she asks.

“We take it one day at a time,” I answer, giving the hand I’m holding a tug.

Lizette complies. She stands and lets me pull her down onto my lap. She sits sideways, wraps her arms around me, and then tucks her face into the crook of my neck. I sigh contently and slip my arms around her, holding her tight. Damn, I’ve missed her.

“I’ve missed you,” she whispers.

“I’ve missed you, too,” I murmur. “No more hiding our relationship, okay? I’m not going to pretend that I don’t love you.”

“Okay,” she replies softly.

Chapter Fourteen

*Lizette*

I can finally breathe again. Beau and I are on our way to mending our damaged relationship. Beau left my office, promising to call me later so that we can set up a date. He wants to start over, not pick up from where we left off. He wants to date, needing me to prove to him that I’m serious about him and our relationship. Which I am, so I will do whatever he wants, as long as I get to be with him. He also promised me that there would be no more drinking, smoking pot, or women. I’m glad for that because there is no way I would share him with anyone.

I walk into my condo to find Dennis and his new friend Tucker, from the VA hospital, sitting on the couch watching a baseball game. Dennis looks over at me first. I know Tucker’s hearing is next to nothing, so he probably hasn’t heard me come in. Dennis frowns at me.

“Why are your eyes all red and puffy? Were you crying?” he asks.

Tucker glances at Dennis before turning to follow his line of sight. He sees me and smiles as he raises a hand in greeting. I return his smile and wave before turning my attention back to Dennis.

“I’m fine, had a meeting with Beau today,” I say and start for the kitchen to grab a drink.

Dennis gets up and follows me. “And? How did it go?” he asks curiously as he leans on the island counter.

A small smile steals across my face as I grab a bottle of water out of the fridge. “Pretty well actually, we’re gonna start over.”

Dennis grins wide. “That’s great, Lizzie! I’m glad that you guys are gonna work it out,” he says, sincerely happy for me.

I nod. “Yeah, me, too. Any luck finding a job?”

Dennis shrugs. “I have an interview tomorrow and Tucker has one on Monday,” he says, trying for nonchalance, but I can tell that he’s excited about it.

“Yay! That’s so exciting!” I chirp.

“I guess. It’s just to be a bouncer at a bar. I really don’t have any other skills, since I’ve been a Marine and in war for half of my life.”

I reach over and grab his wrist. “It’s a step forward, Denny,” I assure him.

He takes a deep breath and nods in agreement. “I know. Tucker’s a computer programmer, so he’s definitely going to get a higher paying job than I am. I’ll probably try to find a second job just to compensate.”

“That’s okay.”

“Are you two talking about me behind my back?” Tucker asks with a wry grin as he saunters into the kitchen.

I chuckle. Dennis smiles then signs to Tucker as he talks. “I was telling Lizzie about our job interviews.”

Tucker nods. “Ah, gotcha.”

Tucker is a really good-looking guy, but not in a classically handsome kind of way. There is just something about him. He has bright blue bedroom eyes and a naturally sultry smile that can bring any woman to her knees. His hair is dark brown and wavy on top where he keeps it the longest. He’s only a few inches shorter than Dennis, but he is bulkier in his muscle mass.

“I wanted to be a cop, but that’s not possible with my situation,” Tucker says and motions to an ear.

Dennis snorts. “Yeah, same here. I can’t run too great with my leg.”

“Well, you can only do what you can with what you have. You’ll have jobs, you’ll be able to get an apartment, and you’ll move forward with your lives,” I affirm.

Tucker watches my mouth as I talk. When I finish speaking, I smile and nod. “Thank you, Lizette.”

“Yeah, thanks, Lizzie,” Dennis says.

I smile. “You’re welcome. Are you guys’ hungry? I can make you some sandwiches.”

“Hell yeah!” Tucker says enthusiastically.

I chuckle and glance at Dennis, who smiles wide and nods vigorously. I smile and shoo the guys out of the kitchen so that I can make them some sandwiches.

*Beau*

All I want to do is take Lizette out for a nice dinner. Well, the dinner goes well up until half way through, that’s when the paparazzi arrives and starts flashing us to death with their cameras through the window we are seated next to. Now, we are trying to get back to the car, but are still being hounded.

“Beau! Beau! Are you and your manager on a date?” One called.

“Are you two together?” Another yelled.

“Were you cheating on Lizette with all of those other women that you were with the past couple of months?” Cried another one.

I am ready to punch someone in the face. Rob is fending off people from the front as we slowly make our way toward the parking lot, where the valet has already pulled up my car. Lizette is tucked protectively under my arm. I hate that she has to be subjected to this. Not that she’s unfamiliar with it, she’s been dealing with it for the past five years. None of it has been directed at her, though, because she’s always just been in the background. One particularly vicious bastard speaks up.

“Hey! Lizette! I heard that your parents are alcoholics! How do you feel about Beau’s new drinking habits?”

I spun so fast that I ended up tossing Lizette into Rob’s back. I grab the fucker by his collar and get in his face. “You better back the fuck off before I hurt you,” I snarl.

The smug asshole smiles and says, “And you better get your hands off me before I have you arrested for assault.”

I give him a nasty smile in return. “I’m shakin’ in my boots,” I say and shove the guy back.

“Are you really sure that you should be driving? You reek of alcohol; I think you’ve had too much to drink!” The dickhead calls after me.

I roll my eyes. “Whatever, man, I haven’t had anything to drink all night. Make up whatever the fuck you want.”

“Hey, Lizette! Did Beau tell you that he got some fan pregnant?” The asshat yells.

“WHAT?” I roar.

I’ve had enough of this motherfucker. I lunge for the guy, but Rob grabs me around the waist and hauls me back.

“He’s just tryin’ to bait you, man, relax,” Rob hisses in my ear, keeping one arm around my waist as he drags me back toward the car.

“I’ll fucking ruin that motherfucker!” I grind out, staring down the fucktard that keeps running his mouth.

Lizette’s soft hand latches onto my arm. “Beau, just get in the car before he says something else,” she coaxes.

The constant flashing is making my eyes hurt and spots form at the edges of my vision. I give in and slide into the backseat with Lizette. Rob gets into the driver’s seat and gets out of there as fast as possible. I can’t help but brood as we head back to my condo. Lizette’s hand finds my thigh, giving it a squeeze.

“Don’t let those idiots do that to you,” she says softly.

I rub my eyes, trying to will away the spots dancing in front of me. “I hate those fucking liars,” I snap.

“They do that on purpose to get a rise out of you and you totally fell for it,” Rob mutters from the driver’s seat. “You usually have more control than that,” he says, glancing at me through the rearview.

“I know, but when that dick started talking about Lizette’s parents, I just lost my cool.”

“You don’t have to worry about me, I don’t give a shit about anything they say,” she assures me, rubbing my thigh.

“It just irritates me that they would even dare bring up something like that,” I growl, turning to stare out the window.

This is the one thing that I hate about my life. Those ruthless shitheads will do and say anything for a picture and a story. Then I notice Rob’s eyes and how they keep flicking to the rearview and out the back window.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“I think that one vulture is following us,” he answers.

“Why does that not surprise me?” I ask dryly.

“You guys are buckled in, right?” Rob asks.

“Yeah, why?” Lizette asks suspiciously.

Rob hits the gas. “I’m gonna lose this cocksucker,” he grunts as Lizette and I are thrown back against the seat.

“Really, Rob? I don’t want to end up like Princess Diana!” Lizette squawks and glances out the back window.

“Yeah, Rob, no desire at all,” I agree.

“Shhh!” Rob says, weaving through traffic like a pro.

He hops on the highway and takes off. He bites out a curse, which to me means that the guy is still on our tail. Then out of nowhere, Rob slams on the brakes. Lizette screams next to me. My seat belt locks, cutting into my chest. Even with the seat belt, my head smacks into the headrest of the seat in front of me, disorienting me for a moment. I hear the other car’s brakes squeal and we brace for an impact that never comes. A few seconds later, I hear the crunch of metal against the concrete barrier to my right.

The front of the car is already smoking pretty well and will no doubt be up in flames at any moment. The driver hasn’t gotten out yet and my gut rolls. No matter how big of an asshole he was, I can’t let him die in that car.

“Pull the fuck over, Rob!” I shout urgently.

Rob does as he’s told, pulling over about fifty feet in front of the wrecked vehicle. I jump out before it completely stops, both Lizette and Rob calling after me. I sprint down the side of the highway to the crash site. Luckily, all of the damage is on the right side of the car, but that doesn’t stop it from catching fire. I yank on the driver’s handle but it’s locked and the window is up.
Sonofabitch!
Smoke has already filled the inside of the car because the windows aren’t tinted and I can barely make out the figure in the driver’s seat. I look around frantically for something to smash the window. I see a large piece of two by four a few feet away. I grab it and swing it like a bat at the window, shattering it. I rake the two by four along the bottom of the window to get any leftover glass shards as smoke pours out.

I can see the guy now, still buckled in and unconscious. I hold my breath as I lean into the vehicle and fumble around for the seat belt release. It takes me a couple of seconds to find it because the smoke is so thick that I can’t see, plus it’s burning my eyes, making them water. I finally get it and start to pull the guy out through the window. I get him about halfway out when Rob appears next to me and grabs the man under his arms to heft him the rest of the way out. I grab his legs and we quickly move him away from the now burning car.

Lizette is standing by the trunk of my car with a cell phone up to her ear. Good girl. Rob and I place the man on the ground and I start to assess whether he needs CPR or not. I lean over the man, put my ear over his mouth, and look down at his chest to see if it rises and falls; he’s breathing, which is a relief. I gently slap the guy’s face a few times to see if I can get him to wake up. I can hear the sirens in the distance, so I know help will be here soon.

The guy coughs violently before sucking in a deep breath. His eyes flutter open and his gaze immediately locks on me. He looks at me in confusion before glancing at Rob, who is kneeling down on the other side of him.